Facebook on Thursday issued a denial of several claims in a recent New York Times report, which for instance said that CEO Mark Zuckerberg was so incensed by jabs from Apple CEO Tim Cook that he ordered executives to use Android devices instead of iPhones.

"Tim Cook has consistently criticized our business model and Mark has been equally clear he disagrees," Facebook said in a press release. "So there's been no need to employ anyone else to do this for us. And we've long encouraged our employees and executives to use Android because it is the most popular operating system in the world."

"We're not going to traffic in your personal life. Privacy to us is a human right. It's a civil liberty," he said, adding he "wouldn't be in this situation" when asked how he would respond if he were in Zuckerberg's shoes. Despite public criticism of its cooperation with the Chinese government, Apple has otherwise made privacy a key marketing point, offering strong encryption for its devices and messaging services. Facebook makes money primarily through advertising, which is dependent on collecting demographic data.

Zuckerberg issued a defense in his own public comments.

"You know, I find that argument, that if you're not paying that somehow we can't care about you, to be extremely glib -- and not at all aligned with the truth," he said. "If you want to build a service which is not just serving rich people, then you need to have something people can afford. I think it's important that we don't all get Stockholm syndrome, and let the companies that work hard to charge you more, convince you that they actually care more about you, because that sounds ridiculous to me."

Privately, though, the Times alleges that Zuckerberg was "infuriated" by Cook's attack, and ordered his management team to switch from iPhone to Android, using the larger install base of Android as the reason.

In its Thursday statement, Facebook also tackled several other topics raised by the Times report, such as a supposedly slow response to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections, and its decision to allow anti-Muslim comments by then-candidate Donald Trump to be aired on its platform. Some at the company reportedly argued that Trump had violated terms of service, but decision makers disagreed, erring on the side of free speech since Trump was a key public figure and there might've been a conservative backlash.

I've always said Facebook is a company run by sociopaths, people who cannot really distinguish right from wrong. They claim they are opposed to fake news, then they hire a PR company who proceeds to manufacture fake news, and when caught they lie about it. Whenever Zuckerberg and Sandberg come out with their high-sounding kumbaya humanitarian and idealistic pronouncements, I almost vomit. These are two of the most morally rudderless executives in the US. The values they loudly claim to profess sound very admirable but all those make way for the almighty dollar. Facebook is toxic for democracy. Its executives are sacrificing the country in their quest to satisfy their lust for wealth and power.

Same goes for Google and Amazon. But they go about wreaking the same damage more stealthily.

I wonder who would be hurt the most if Apple decided to pull Facebook from the App Store or if Facebook decided to stop developing for the iPhone? I don't use Facebook but think both would be losers in either case.

More open and connected to dictators, totalitarians, fascists and their intelligence apparatuses. Not to mention scammers, neo-nazis, terrorists, cyber-bullies, wife-killers, and all sorts of characters that used to hide underneath rocks and burrow in the woodwork.

With Google+ leaving and Facebook exposed, this leaves a gap of opportunity for Apple to come in. Been thinking this lately...

Today I was on a site that had 3 "connect with us" icons:

[f] [Bird] [G+]

No matter what you say G+ still had mindshare and the icons are still up on business sites etc. Now imagine Apple's influence, privacy and pre-loaded apps on iOS, tvOS, WatchOS and Mac. Maybe even promote it on Beats Radio.

And don't give me that Ping 2.0 bullshit because this isn't Ping, Apple learns from mistakes and it's 2018 now.

Zuckerberg has always seemed thin-skinned and petty in most articles I have read. I wonder how many FB execs use the Androids at work and an iPhone when they leave...

He behaves like a spoiled and petulant child.

Pretty much yes...I don't know how he's still CEO of FaceBook.

He’s still CEO because, apparently, he still wants to be CEO.

Mr. Zuckerberg owns the vast majority of Facebook’s Class B shares. That gives him more than 50% of the voting power in Facebook. So, speaking practically (and barring some unlikely circumstances), he’s the CEO for as long as he wants to be.

I go out of my way now to avoid anything to do with Facebook, same as I do for Google. The only IT company I can trust with my personal data is Apple.

Edit: typo

I just wish someone would create a new search engine that is on par with them... I begrudge using google at all, but they have the most fully featured, accurate, and helpful engine. If only perhaps Apple would fund and support expansion of duck duck go. Or even purchase outright and flesh it out. I would be one very happy bunny.